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Baha’is gather in DRC despite war, other challenges

UVIRA, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 18 November 2008

A war close at hand and myriad financial and security challenges did not stop nearly 800 people from reaching a historic Baha’i conference in Uvira. Most of the participants came from the DRC, but 13 were from Burundi and four from Rwanda. “Although all our belongings were taken from us on the way here, we made it to the conference,” said Francois Njiangani, who lives in the province west of Uvira. Twenty-one people arrived from North Kivu province – a site of the current unrest.

Big turnout for regional Baha’i conferences

JOHANNESBURG, South Africa, 11 November 2008

More than a thousand Baha’is from nearly a dozen countries came together for a regional conference that turned out to be the largest Baha’i gathering ever held in South Africa. A simultaneous conference this past weekend in Nakuru, Kenya, also drew more than a thousand participants.

Baha’is mark the Birth of Baha’u’llah

SEOUL, South Korea, 11 November 2008

The Baha’i center in Seoul was the site of a special program – one of thousands around the world – marking the 191st anniversary of the birth of Baha’u’llah, which occurred on 12 November 1817 in Tehran, Iran. The anniversary is one of nine holy days during the year on which Baha’is suspend work.

Photograph collection posted to Web site

HAIFA, Israel, 7 November 2008

A collection of 500 photographs of Baha’i activities around the world is now available for viewing and downloading on the official Baha’i Web site. The link to the specific Web section, titled “Attaining the dynamics of growth: Images from five continents,” is http://www.bahai.org/attaining/. The photographs, commissioned by the Baha’i World Centre, were among thousands done as part of a project leading up to the International Baha’i Convention, held last spring in Haifa.

Zambia gathering is first in series of 41 conferences

LUSAKA, Zambia, 4 November 2008

Some 750 Baha’is from Zambia, Malawi, and Zimbabwe gathered in Lusaka last weekend for the first of 41 regional Baha’i conferences scheduled over the next four months in cities around the globe. The unprecedented series of gatherings comes at the midway point of a five-year effort by Baha’is to decentralize many of their activities and organize study circles, devotional meetings, and classes for children and young people at the neighborhood level.

Ugandan project doesn’t stop at literacy

NEBBI DISTRICT, West Nile Region, Uganda, 2 November 2008

Being literate means being able to read useful information – that's why the first unit in the UPLIFT literacy program tells how to treat malaria. Later units deal with farming methods, nutrition, hygiene and safety, making compost, environmental challenges, and so on. "When I compare my condition and that of my friends who have not attended UPLIFT courses, I can see a big difference," says villager Alisa Poli, speaking in Alur, the main language in this part of Uganda.

UN convenes Global Forum of faith groups

ISTANBUL, Turkey, 30 October 2008

The Baha’i International Community was among the religious groups and nongovernmental organizations that participated in a two-day Global Forum of Faith-based Organizations, convened by the United Nations Population Fund. The gathering, held in Istanbul on 20-21 October, addressed population and development issues related to HIV-AIDS, reproductive health, gender equality, and violence against women.

Baha’is observe International Day for Eradication of Poverty

UNITED NATIONS, 26 October 2008

Asked to open a United Nations meeting on poverty, Kevin Locke recited an “eagle” prayer in his native Lakota Sioux dialect. “The eagle is a symbol of the ascendant nature of the human spirit, of the innate capacity of the human spirit to rise to nobility,” explained Mr. Locke at a UN roundtable to mark the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty. The event was held 17 October. “The eagle is compelled to fly upward,” he said

Iranian report confirms innocence of Shiraz Baha'is

NEW YORK, 24 October 2008

An Iranian inspector who examined the 2006 arrests of a group of young Baha’is in Shiraz, Iran, filed a confidential report dated June 2008 confirming what Baha’is have said all along: that their activities were strictly humanitarian in nature and did not involve the “illegal” teaching of the Baha’i Faith

UN report cites Iranian government’s violations against Baha’is

UNITED NATIONS, 22 October 2008

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has expressed his concern over human rights violations in Iran against Baha'is, other minorities, women and juveniles. In a 20-page document released on Monday, Mr. Ban responded to a request from the General Assembly last December for a “comprehensive report” on the human rights situation in Iran. While noting some positive achievements, Mr